French Macarons: Vanilla with Strawberry Rhubarb Buttercream
French Macarons are an addiction of mine and I was going broke paying €2,75 each at Ladurée so I decided to learn how to make them myself. These are time intensive for a very small yield, but they are so worth it.
This is a slightly different recipe from the others I posted previously. This recipe uses an Italian meringue as the base vs a French meringue so it takes a few extra steps, but the results are incredible, so it is worth it.
FRENCH MACARONS: VANILLA WITH STRAWBERRY BUTTERCREAM
~ 24 completed cookies
FRENCH MACARONS -
200 grams Almond Flour
200 grams Confectioners Sugar
160g (~3 Egg Whites), room temperature
200 grams Sugar
75 ml Water
2 teaspoons Vanilla
Red or Pink Food Coloring (amount depends on brand)
FILLING -
150 grams Butter, softened
75 grams Confectioners Sugar (+ extra incase you need to thicken it)
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla
3 tablespoons Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce
1 tablespoon Strawberry Jam
Sift almond flour and confectioners sugar into a large bowl. You will have some almond pieces remaining in the sifter - discard. Mix with a fork until all combined. Then sift a second time.
Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites being very careful not get any yolks in the whites. Discard the yolks or set aside for another recipe if needed.
Place 80 grams of the egg whites in the stand mixer with the whisk attachment and beat until frothy. (Keep beating, but start the next step). The egg whites need to be beat until they have soft peaks.
On the stove top, combine the water and sugar and bring to boil. Without stirring, the water/sugar needs to reach 240 F (115 C).
Once the egg whites have reach their soft peaks and the sugar water reaches 240 F (115 C), slowly beat in the molten sugar water into the egg whites in slow stream. Then beat on high for 10 minutes.
While the eggs and sugar are in the stand mixer, create the almond paste with the remaining 80 grams of egg whites, almond/sugar mixture, and vanilla. Use a flexible spatula to make it easier to combine together. When it is all combined add the food coloring. You want the the color to be much darker than you think because as it bakes the color lightens.
Once the 10 minutes are up, take 1/3 of the meringue and mix it into the almond paste to help loosen the paste. Once it is a looser texture, add the remaining meringue and carefully incorporate it until the color is uniform. Do this gently and take your time. You do not want to deflate the eggs whites.
Fill a piping bag with the cookie mixture. Use a 1/4" nozzle to pipe the cookies on to parchment paper lined trays. Bang trays on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.
Let trays sit for a minimum for 20 minutes while the oven preheats.
Preheat the oven to 150 C (300 F).
Bake one tray at a time in the middle rack of the oven for 14 minutes. When done remove parchment from tray and cool on a flat surface. Repeat with the remaining trays.
Cool completely before adding filling.
To make the filling, bring butter up to room temperature. Add the softened butter to the stand mixer and cream with the flat beater attachment until the butter is faded in color and smooth.
Add in the confectioners sugar slowly to the butter and beat until incorporated.
Slowly add in the vanilla, strawberry rhubarb sauce, and strawberry jam. If the buttercream is too thin add confectioners sugar once tablespoon at a time until the proper consistency. Place in the refrigerator for at least a half hour.
Once all of the cookies and the filling are cooled, use a pipping bag with a 1/4" tip to add the filling to the half of the cookies. Place the remaining cookies on top of the frosted cookies.
Place in the refrigerator for about 24 hours before serving to assure they are fully set.